We shouldn’t have to climb trees to get phone signal: Granger

– President envisages completely free telecommunication

By Ravin Singh
THE days of standing on rooftops and climbing coconut trees for telecommunication signals will be no more as Government aims to provide countrywide interconnectivity. This was according to President David Granger, whose announcement comes just a few days after the historic Telecommunications Bill was passed in the National Assembly, paving way for a liberalized sector.
The President on Thursday, during the weekly broadcast of his television show “The Public Interest” underscored the need for Guyana to “catch up with the rest of the world” in relation to telecommunications.
He said that if Guyana is to move forward and catch up with the rest of the world, including the Caribbean, then the country needs to have a more liberal landscape for communications.
“We need to ensure that all parts of the country can communicate easily.”
Guyana was able to introduce 4G services only a few months ago, while other countries have been providing that service a few years now. And despite its implementation, customers continue to bemoan the quality of the 4G service.
In light of Guyana’s inability to compete with other developing countries in the telecommunications sector, the President said that there is a need to ensure that interconnectivity is provided throughout the country.
He referenced Guyana’s limitation by pointing to the fact that residents of Karawab usually have to climb a coconut tree to get communication. “It’s a serious issue,” the President stated.
Assuming that there are more than half of a million cellphones currently being used in Guyana, he said that the Government cannot afford to deprive a huge part of the population of the ability to communicate freely.
“I’ve said time and time again, telecommunication is a right, it is an entitlement. People are entitled to go on the information super highway. People are entitled to communicate. It’s guaranteed in our laws, and it took too long to arrive at this stage,” the President said.
However, interconnectivity which provides access to internet and mobile services countrywide is not his only vision for the rapidly advancing sector. In fact, President Granger said that he envisions a free information highway, which includes free Wifi at every public institution across the country.
“I would like to see that every single public building – hospitals, schools, universities and defence force have Wifi. My vision is that the information superhighway should be free. And sooner rather than later, every Guyanese should be able to communicate without impediment, without restraints, without delay. So my vision goes way beyond the (Telecommunications) Bill. It goes into the next generation. We must have completely free telecommunication,” he said.
Having assumed executive office last year, the President almost immediately created a Public Telecommunication Ministry, and according to him, this sector is critical to national development. As such, on January 1 of this year, he introduced the new ministry, which is now headed by Minister Cathy Hughes.
“[It was created] because public information, public telecommunication, [and] Information Technology are all central to national development.”
Regarding the Telecoms Bill, which will be sent to his office for assent, President Granger said that the only thing he can say about the Bill is that it took too long to come.
“It ought to have come much earlier, but if Guyana is to move forward and catch up with the rest of the world including the Caribbean, we need to have a more liberal landscape for communication” he stated.
Since the passage of the Bill, which will lead to the collapse of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph’s (GT&T’s) control of the sector, that company has said that it is in support of liberalization. The company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Justin Nedd has also called for negotiations with the Government to discuss the way forward for the company, which will soon be existing in a much more competitive environment.
And according to the President, the Government is prepared to sit and listen to that company.
“We have been waiting a long time to bring the Bill to its present state. There is little that we haven’t heard since all of the parties were part of the Special Select Committee which consulted with all stakeholders. But we are prepared to sit and listen to them; that’s not a problem. We want to make sure that they all realize that liberalization is the direction in which the country is travelling and we don’t want any impediments,” he added.